USA > Missouri > St Charles County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 55
USA > Missouri > Montgomery County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 55
USA > Missouri > Warren County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 55
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FREDERICK BLATTNER
(Dealer in Clothing, Boots and Shoes, Furniture, Coffins, Agricultural Implements, Etc., Foristell).
At the age of 19, Mr. Blattner came over to America, from Switzer- land, and landed at New Orleans November 20, 1840, two years before his parents immigrated. He served his time at steamboat building in St. Louis and built the first boats constructed there. In the fall of 1843 his parents came to this country and Frederick accompanied them to Warren county, buying a tract of land in Hickory Grove Prairie. The following spring he returned to St. Louis, where he followed his trade until the fall of 1848; then going back to his parents, in Warren county, on the farm he had previously purchased, he began merchandising, milling and manufacturing in Warren county. In 1861 he embarked in merchandising in Foristell, or, as it was then called, Millville, Mo. In 1868 he removed his family to Foristell, discontinuing his merchandising enterprise in Warren county. His milling business was continued until 1875. It is unnecessary to go into the details of Mr. Blattner's career in busi- ness and industrial affairs. Suffice it to say that it has been one of unqualified and marked success. From a young man comparatively penniless and in a strange land and speaking a foreign language, he has risen by the strength of his own character and the virtue of his own industry and intelligence to the position of one of the wealthy and influential citizens of St. Charles county ; he is a large property holder in this county and also has valuable property interests in St. Louis. Mr. Blattner has been married twice ; his first wife was a Miss Marie A. Uckley, of Montgomery county ; she died December 25, 1852, leaving him two children : Edward and Johanna. Edward is married and engaged in the livery business at New Florence. Johanna is un-
509
HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
married and still at home. Mr. Blattner was married in April, 1853, to his present wife ; she was a Miss Marie E. Wehrley, of St. Louis. They have seven children : Frederick, who is married and is a grain and stock dealer at Wellsville ; William B., who is married and a mer- chant at Foristell ; Caroline, Elizabeth, Andrew and Allie, the last four being still at home. Mr. Blattner was a son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Wehrley ) Blattner, of Switzerland, and who settled in Warren county, Mo., in 1843. The father was a farmer by occupa- tion and died there in 1875 ; he had been a soldier in the Swiss army before coming to this country. The mother died in 1875. Frederick was the eldest of their family of three children.
WILLIAM B. BLATTNER
(Dealer in General Merchandise, Dry Goods, Groceries, Notions, etc., Foristell).
Mr. Blattner was the third in his father's second family of children, mentioned in the preceding sketch, and was born in Warren county, January 24, 1856. His youth was spent in the neighborhood schools and assisting his father in the mill or on the farm. Going to Jones' Commercial College of St. Louis, he took a regular course there, and became thoroughly conversant with the affairs of business and com- mercial laws and usages. He engaged in his present business in 1875, and has had an entirely successful career thus far. He carries a stock of about $3,000, and has built up a large trade. He is one of the popular young business men of this part of the county. Mr. Blattner is a worthy member of the I. O. O. F. The history of the family was given in his father's sketch, which precedes this, and it is therefore unnecessary to repeat here what has been said there.
GEORGE M. CANNON
(Farmer and Stock-raiser, Post-office, Foristell).
The family name of the subject of this sketch is one among the first in the history of the settlement of the middle-eastern part of Missouri. Mr. Cannon's grandfather Cannon settled in St. Charles county, and on the same farm where the grandson now resides, as far back as 1811. This has been the family homestead continuously ever since that time, through three generations of the family and for a period of nearly three-quarters of a century. The senior Cannon removed from Tennessee with his family to this county, and lived here until his death, at a ripe old age. Further mention of his settlement in the county and his life as one of its first pioneers is made in the historical part of this work, so that it is unnecessary to dwell here upon the circumstances and events of his long residence as a citizen of the county. Philip S. Cannon, his son, and the father of the subject of the present sketch, was yet at a tender age when the family came to Missouri, having been born in Tennessee in 1809. ยท After he grew up in this county he was married to Miss Elizabeth McCoy, of another pioneer family earlier in the county than his father's. She was born
.
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
n 1812. They reared a family of 10 children, namely : Julia A., George M., Rachel, William, John (deceased), Daniel M., Nancy ( deceased ), Ellen (deceased ), Nathaniel and Sarah A. The father was a farmer by occupation, in which he had substantial success. He left a comfortable estate at his death, which occurred April 3, 1856. The mother died July 12, 1849. George M. Cannon was born on the homestead where he now resides November 30, 1830. Reared on the farm, he thus acquired that taste for farm life which subsequently influenced him to continue in it as his permanent calling. He has therefore remained a farmer from youth up, and being a man brought up to habits of industry and to a frugal manner of living, he has, of course, been a success as a farmer. For a number of years, besides farming in a general way, he has made something of a specialty of raising stock, and has had a satisfactory experience in this industry also. Mr. Cannon owns the old family homestead of 310 acres, and besides this has a place of 140 acres near by, and 230 acres in Pulaski county. June 30, 1858, he was married to Miss Sarah C. Lewis, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Gross ) Lewis, of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Cannon have 10 children : John E., who is a practicing physician near Clarksville, Texas; Nancy E., Sarah E., James T., George R., Philip S., Oma May, Daniel W., Albert B. and Lucy A., all but the eldest still at home with their parents. From infancy up Mr. C. has been absent from the county but once to remain any length of time, which was from 1853 to 1856, when he was in Cali- fornia. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church.
WILLIAM C. DYER
(Farmer and Stock-raiser, Post-office, St. Paul).
Mr. Dyer is a worthy representative of the old and respected family of North Missouri whose name he bears. The family are originally from Virginia, but now have branches in Kentucky and Missouri and several other States. Mr. Dyer's father, George Dyer, came from the Kentucky branch of the family. Early in life he moved to Arkansas and then to Washington county, Mo. Later along he came north to Montgomery county and then to Pike county, but finally settled in St. Charles county in 1839. He was a farmer by occupation, and one of the well respected citizens of Cuivre township. He was for a long time constable of the township, and during the war enrolling officer for this part of the county. He died here in 1864. His wife was a Miss Mar- garet Hayden before her marriage, from Lebanon, Ky. She died in 1849. They had a family of nine children, four of whom are living. William C. was born while they resided in Pike county, February 20, 1838. He grew uponthe farm in this county, and in 1861 enlisted in. the Home Guards, Union service, in which he continued until the close of the war. After the war he resumed farming, to which he had been brought up, and dealing in stock. August 15, 1861, Mr. Dyer was- married to Miss Margaret McMenomy, a daughter of Patrick and Annie McMenomy. Eleven children were the fruits of this union, ten
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
of whom are living, namely : George, Annie, Patrick, Martin, Fred- erick, Bernard, William, Mary, Lawrence and Fenelon. Mr. and Mrs. Dyer and family are members of the Catholic Church. Mr. Dyer has been satisfactorily successful as a farmer and stock dealer, and has a comfortable property. He has a good farm of nearly 400 acres, nearly all of which is under fence and well improved. He is one of the prosperous farmers and well respected citizens of the township.
AUGUST E. FORDERHASE
(Grain Dealer and Postmaster, Foristell).
Among the active and energetic business men of Foristell the sub- ject of the present sketch occupies a worthy and well recognized position. He ships about 30,000 bushels of grain annually - some 20,000 bushels of wheat and the balance principally oats. Mr. Ford- erhase has acted as postmaster of Foristell since the spring of 1871, when he was appointed to the office by Postmaster-General John A. J. Cresswell. He has made an efficient postmaster, a satisfactory and popular servant with both the post-office department and the public in and around Foristell. Mr. Forderhase was a son of Henry A. and Marie (Suhre ) Forderhase, who came from Prussia and were among the first settlers of Hickory Grove Prairie in Warren county. The father was a farmer by occupation, and died there in 1862. The mother died in 1848. August E. was the third in the family of four children, three of whom are living. He was born in Warren county, August 13, 1846. He received a district school education as he grew up, and also attended the Central Wesleyan College at Warrenton for about a year. He then obtained a situation in a store at Wright City, where he clerked for two years, and came thence to Foristell. Here he afterwards clerked for Frederick Blattner for two years, and in 1869 he and E. M. Pringle formed a partnership and engaged in gen- eral merchandising at this place. Mr. Forderhase continued in the firm until 1876, when he sold out and built a business house of his own, where he opened a general stock of merchandise. He conducted this store for about four years and then disposed of it also. He has ever since been engaged in the grain business. During the war Mr. F. served about a year in the Forty-ninth Missouri regular U. S. A. April 15, 1875, he was married to Miss Cornelia M. Blackwell, a daughter of the Rev. Harleigh and Cathern A. (Banker ) Blackwell ; the father a native of Kentucky, but her mother a native of New York. Mrs. F. was born and reared in St. Charles county, where she was also educated and married. Mr. and Mrs. F. have no children. They are both church members.
EDMUND C. GANNAWAY N (Teacher and Deputy Assessor, Post-office, Wentzville).
Mr. Gannaway, who was born and reared in this county, engaged in teaching here, after he had completed his course at the State Uni-
512
HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
versity, and continued teaching for about eight years, or, rather, he has continued it up to the present time. He has established a wide and enviable reputation as a teacher, and his services are in request wherever he is known. Meanwhile, he was chosen to serve the people in the office of justice of the peace, and he exercised the duties of this office to the entire satisfaction of the public for several terms. He is still serving as justice for Cuivre township. In 1878 he was appointed deputy assessor, and is now a candidate for election for the office of county assessor. Mr. Gannaway is well known in the county as one of its worthy and popular citizens. In the spring of -1876 he was married to Miss Maggie E. Luckett, a daughter of John C. Luckett. Mr. and Mrs. G. have three children : Frank L., Pearl M. and George Vest. Mr. Gannaway has a good farm in the vicinity of Wentzville of nearly 200 acres, where he carries on farming. He re- sides in the town of Wentzville, and has a comfortable residence prop- erty here. He is a native of St. Charles county, born in this county, October 27, 1853. His father is Robinson Gannaway, formerly of Virginia, and a farmer by occupation. His mother was a Miss Martha M. Ferney (now dead) before her marriage. The father still resides in this county, where he settled in 1850. There are two children of their family, besides Edmund C., both of whom are living.
HENRY G. GROVE
(Merchant and Farmer, Post-office, St. Paul).
Mr. Grove is a native of Germany, born in Hanover, February 2, 1837. His father was Christopher Grove, a judicial magistrate of the graffchart of Hanover, and mayor of Harsum. He died there in 1842. Mr. Grove's mother was a Miss Gertrude Rohlman before her mar- riage. Mr. Grove was reared in his native country and came to America in 1847, at the age of 10 years. He first located at St. Louis, where he learned the blacksmith's trade for about four years, and then traveled and worked at his trade in different parts of the Eastern States for several years. In 1856 he came to St. Charles county and located near the present post-office of St. Paul. Here he was engaged in farming and merchandising, and has met with satisfactory success. He has 200 acres of good land, and carries an excellent stock of mer- chandise at his business house. In 1856 he was married to Miss Catharine Wenzel, a daughter of Peter Wenzel, formerly of Bavaria, Germany. Ten children have been the fruits of this union and of these seven are living, namely : Theresa, John, Gertrude, Josephene, Lena, Frank and Caroline. Henry C., Henry J. and William are de- ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Grove are members of the Catholic Church, and he is a member of the Farmers and Mechanics' Association, and the Catholic Knights of America, and the Patrons of Husbandry. Besides his farm Mr. Grove has 150 acres of good land in another tract. He is one of the worthy and respected citizens of Cuivre township, and he has made all he is worth by his own industry and good management, a fact greatly to his credit.
513
HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
LEO W. HAYDEN
(Farmer, Post-office, St. Paul) .
Among the well-to-do farmers and respected citizens of Cuivre township is the subject of the present sketch, Mr. Hayden. His father, William B. Hayden, came to Missouri from Kentucky in 1838, and located first in Montgomery county. Subsequently he removed to Lincoln county and then to St. Charles, where he married and settled permanently. His wife was a Miss Mary Freymuth, of a respected German family that settled in this county in an early day. Mr. Hayden, Sr., became comfortably situated in life, and reared a worthy family of eight children. Leo W., the oldest in the family of children, was born July 4, 1847, and was reared on the farm in this county. He received a common-school education, and about the time of arriving at the age of 29 engaged in farming for himself. April 24, 1877, he was married to Miss Mary C. Corley, a daughter of Henry and Rosa Corley, of this county. Mr. and Mrs. H. have three chil- dren : Beatrice, Henry and Mary Rose. Both parents are members of the Catholic Church. Mr. Hayden's farm is a tract of 446 acres, about 300 acres of which he has well improved.
JAMES R. HAYDEN
(Dealer in General Merchandise, Post-cffice, St. Paul).
The Hayden family, as all know who know anything about the people of North Missouri, is one of the old and highly respected families of this section of the State. The family came originally from Maryland, but several branches were located for a time in Kentucky, coming thence to this State. Mr. Hayden's father, William B. Hay- den, came from Kentucky to Missouri when a young man in 1840. He first located in Montgomery county, but afterwards resided in Pike and Lincoln and finally settled permanently in St. Charles county in 1845. He married here the following year Miss Mary B. Freymuth, a daughter of John C. Freymuth, an early settler in this county from Prussia. After his marriage he engaged in farming and subsequently became one of the substantial farmers of Cuivre township. He died here November 16, 1878. His wife had preceded him to the grave nearly seven years, dying January 15, 1872. Both were exemplary members of the Catholic Church. They reared a family of eight chil- dren, five boys and three girls, all of whom are living. James R. Hay- den, the subject of this sketch, was the second of their children, and was born on his father's homestead in this county, June 8, 1849. Reared on the farm, he remained with the family until 25 years of age, when he built on and improved his farm, building one of the best barns in the county. He was married September 7, 1876, to Miss Rosa P. Bowles, a daughter of John B. and Mary Jane (nee Onan) Bowles. In 1881 Mr. Hayden engaged in merchandising at St. Paul, and has been in the business here ever since. He carries a good
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
stock of goods and has an excellent trade. Mr. and Mrs. Hayden have two children, Mary M. and Albert. Another, Lula, is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. H. are members of the Catholic Church.
HENRY F. HIGGINBOTHAM
(Ticket, Freight and Express Agent, and Telegraph Operator, Foristell).
Mr. Higginbotham was reared on his father's farm in this county and continued at home with the family until he was about 19 years of age, when he went to Pendleton, in Warren county, and entered the telegraph office there to learn telegraphy. He had received a good district school education, and of a naturally quick, active mind, and closely attentive to his work, he soon mastered the art of tele- graphy. Indeed, his progress and proficiency as an operator were unusually rapid, and by the following fall he was warmly recom- mended by his preceptor, Mr. W. E. Bon Durant, as being fully qual- ified to take charge of an office. The office at Foristell becoming vacant about this time, he made application for the position, and being indorsed for the place by Mr. Bon Durant, as well as being known to the superintendent of telegraphy on the Wabash, he was given the appointment, and has had charge of this office ever since. He has made a thoroughly efficient operator, and has given entire satisfaction to the road and telegraph management and to all con- cerned. Appreciating the fact that to make himself useful or of any value as a railway agent, he should understand the general principles of book-keeping and the modus operandi of depot business, he famil- iarized himself also with these, and has thus been able to discharge the duties of his position as ticket, freight, and express agent with efficiency and dispatch. As is well known, Mr. Higginbotham is one of the most active and capable station agents along the line of the Wabash, and of deserved popularity in the community where he is located, no less than with the officers and operators of the road. Like most of the representatives of old families in this part of the State, Mr. Higginbotham is of Virginia ancestry. The Higginbotham family is one of the well known and highly respected families of the western part of the Old Dominion. His father, George W. Higginbotham, was born and reared in that section of Virginia, a native of Henry county, On his mother's side Mr. Higginbotham is a representative of the Dyer family, another old and respected family of Virginia. His mother, whose maiden name was Miss Sarah A. Dyer, is a first cousin of Col. D. P. Dyer, of St. Louis. Mr. H.'s parents came to Missouri in 1840, and settled in St. Charles county. His father is a substantial farmer and well respected citizen of the county. Henry F., the subject of this sketch, is the eldest of five children. The others are : Edward M., who is now a farmer of Custer county, Neb. ; Walter B., who is still at home with his father ; Robert W. is a clerk in the drug store of his uncle, William Dyer, of Jonesburg, and Charles P., who is still at home with his father. Henry Fountain Higginbotham, obtaining his position at Foristell, was married to
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
Miss Emma Schatz, a daughter of Jobn G. Schatz, of this place, on the 7th of July, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. H. have two children, Florence Eugenia, born July 15, 1881, and Clarence Leroy, born July 7, 1882. The latter died July 17, of the same month. Thus,
" A tiny bud unblossomed yet The Virgin Mother blessed ; It feel to earth. She picked it up And pinned it on her breast."
GARNER B. HITCH
(Farmer, Fost-office, Wentzville).
Mr. Hitch learned the carpenter's trade early in life and worked at it in St. Louis for a time. From there, in 1850, he went to Califor- nia, where he followed his trade, principally in the line of making machinery for mining purposes. He formed a partnership with Mr. Mabie, and for several years the firm of Mabie & Hitch did a large business in the manufacture of machinery. He was also interested in mining and continued in California for over five years. He then returned to Missouri and settled in St. Charles county, where he had been partly reared. He was married here shortly afterwards to Miss Mollie T. Hand, formerly of Virginia. She survived less than two years, leaving no issue. His present wife was a Miss Alice Griffin, of Louisville, Ky. Of this union there are also no children, but they have become the foster-parents of four orphan children. Mr. Hitch has followed farming uninterruptedly since his return from Cal- ifornia and has a comfortable homestead of 300 acres. His parents, Garner B., Sr., and Mary (Barbee) Hitch, were from Virginia to Mis- souri, and came out in 1837. His father had served through the War of 1812, and died in St. Louis county in 1840. The mother survived to the advanced age of 90. Garner B., Jr., was the third of their family of ten children, and was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, March 17, 1829. In 1842 he came from St. Louis county, to which his parents had brought him, to St. Charles county, but he returned to the former county in 1848. Thence he went to California.
JUDGE JAMES HUMPHREYS
(Farmer and Stock-raiser, Post-office, St. Paul).
Judge Humphreys was a lad about nine years of age when his parents, James and Anna ( Bailey ) Humphreys, immigrated to the United States from England. He was born in Warwickshire, England, Feb- ruary 9, 1831. The family located at St. Louis in 1840, where the father followed his trade, rope making, for over 20 years. He then retired from active labor and removed to St. Charles county, where he died in 1864. His wife was a sister to the noted William Bailey, the manufacturer of the first railway steam engine ever oper- ated on the present principle of traction. Judge James Humphreys was principally reared in St. Louis, where he continued until about
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
1864, when he came to St. Charles county, and here he engaged in farming. A year before coming to this county he was married to Miss Hannah Martin, a young lady of St. Louis, but formerly of Massachusetts. Judge Humphreys has followed farming continuously in this county ever since his settlement here in 1854, for a period, now, of over thirty years. He is one of the neat, enterprising farmers of Cuivre township. He has become well and favorably known over the county as one of its highly respected and popular cit- izens. In 1882 he was elected a judge of the county court, and is now serving the people in that responsible position. Judge Humphreys is a man of sterling, sound good judgment, perfectly upright in all his dealings and purposes, as his past irreproachable life shows, and a man in whom the people have the utmost confidence. He has made a capable, impartial, and discriminating judge, and is always at the post of duty whenever public business requires his time and attention. As long as the affairs of the county are kept in the hands of Judge Humphreys and his associates no uneasiness of the people need be felt for their faithful and economical management.
REV. FATHER THEODOR KRAINHARD
(Rector of the Church of St. Joseph, Josephville).
Of all the missions in this life which men are called to fulfill, there is not one that calls for the exercise of qualities so high and noble as those demanded in the priesthood. Of course men of the highest type are always found in this pre-eminent and sacred calling, for from the first followers of the Saviour there have, now and then, been those among His disciples who have betrayed themselves as unworthy of the high commission with which they were intrusted. But this does not alter the rule, nor does it lessen to any appreciable extent the respect and consideration with which the priesthood has always been regarded. " The priesthood," Atterbury truthfully says, " hath in all nations, and in all ages, been held highly venerable." And this is as it should be. Men called from among their fellows for the duties of this high office on account of the superior gifts of mind and of their deep, earnest piety, and prepared by long years of training, moral, mental and religious, for the sacred services they are to perform ; men set apart from all others and forever divorced from the secular affairs of the world, solemnly and sacredly plighted to a life of celibacy, and renouncing forever the worldly comforts and happiness of home and family ; in a word, men turning their backs once for all on everything which the generality of mankind regards as nearest and dearest and most to be desired, so far as this life is concerned - family, the pur- suit of wealth and personal advancement - and pledging themselves alone to the service of God and the church, and of mankind through the church, they must needs have that high resolve of character and those noble instincts and impulses, which, combined with their high mental endowments and their learning, together with the sacred nature of their office, can not but challenge the profound considera-
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